


In the Weeds

by notfortunesfool



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxious Will Graham, Caring Hannibal Lecter, Established Relationship, Light Angst, Love Confessions, M/M, Post-Episode: s03e13 The Wrath of the Lamb, Worried Will Graham
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:14:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25581931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notfortunesfool/pseuds/notfortunesfool
Summary: Will has been nothing but a bundle of nerves for months after the fall. He can't even handle their new life due to lingering worries of their old one coming for him and Hannibal. A notification changes everything.
Relationships: Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter
Comments: 2
Kudos: 115





	In the Weeds

Though he had yet to bring it up to Will, Will knew Hannibal was worried about him. Will was always tense, anxious to the point that the stress was consuming him. They'd been on the run for more than four months, and nothing had ever seemed to calm him for more than an hour. He'd had a few nice nights with Hannibal; one time they'd snuck onto a farm and stolen some food, giving Hannibal a chance to woo Will with his cooking and they'd kissed and he was content until Hannibal fell asleep against him. Whenever Will was left alone with his thoughts, he always began to panic. In four months, he had not had a single night of uninterrupted sleep. His sleep was either restless or he didn't fall asleep at all.

Hannibal, to his credit, had not been making matters worse. There was little he could do to help Will, considering the nature of his anxieties, but he did his best. He'd hold Will as he fell asleep, he'd whisper words of encouragement and hold Will's hand while trying to calm him down from a panic attack. As thoughtful as those things were, they didn't make Will feel any better. They just reminded him of what he had to lose.

Will was terrified. He had the love of his life with him and he was free from that horrible FBI job and he had even convinced Hannibal to let him pick up a very small stray from the side of the road. They'd ended up dropping the little guy off at a righly rated shelter a couple weeks later, but Hannibal had then promised they could come back for him once they had a more permanent residence. Will was excited at that prospect. Still, he could not bring himself to feel truly safe. Every day that passed, he grew more and more worried about getting caught. Will couldn't bear the mere idea of being separated from Hannibal upon their capture, though he knew if they were caught Hannibal would likely be unjustly executed right then. Jack Crawford would take pleasure in putting the bullet between Hannibal's eyes himself. 

Will knew for a fact that Jack Crawford was still hunting them. He'd narrowly avoided being suspended from his job as the head of the Behavioral Science Unit and, without his wife there to warn him, he had nothing holding him back from directing those below him to accompany him in searching for Will Graham and Hannibal Lecter. Most assumed Will to be dead by Hannibal's hand. Some believed the both of them to have drowned by the cliffside. Freddie Lounds was on Jack's side, believing them to have run off together. Will knew this because he had set up an email account to get alerts any time his, Hannibal's, or Jack's name was mentioned on the internet, and nearly half of them so far had been from Tattlecrime. Freddie's theories, though not usually all that far off from reality, were getting crazier over time.

As good as his current life was, Will could not be happy. He was too scared of the possibility of losing it all.

"Will, beloved, we need to get gas. I believe there is a gas station a few miles away. Could you find it on the map for me," Hannibal asked him from the driver's seat. Will hummed and opened Google Maps on his phone, searching for nearby gas stations. His fingers were trembling slightly. 

"If you turn left up ahead, that road'll keep us in the right direction and lead to a gas station a couple miles up."

"Thank you," Hannibal said, glancing at Will quickly. "Would you rather I go inside to-"

"No," Will said quickly, voice slightly panicked. "No. You're a lot more recognizable than me. You're Hannibal the Cannibal, and you've got that accent. I, at least, seem like I could live around here."

"Fair enough, sweet Will. It was only an offer; your anxiety seems to drastically worsen when you are forced to interact with the public."

"Yeah. It'd skyrocket if you were even glanced at by anyone other than me. I'm terrified that you'll get recognized." Silence spread between them in the car. Will felt embarrassed at his slight outburst, but Hannibal did not seem to be perturbed at all.

Within a few minutes, the weed-ridden fields they passed cleared to reveal a small gas station. In its location and with how drab it outwardly appeared to be, Will doubted the place would have data, let alone WiFi. He got out of the car to set up the gas pump and let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Hannibal rolled down the window and gave Will a list. 

"Some food and supplies I'd like you to pick up, if it is no trouble."

"Of course, Hannibal." The window closed again and Will busied himself with pumping the gas. Once he'd gotten nearly ten gallons of gas, he finished up by grabbing the price ticket printed for him and opened the door to the back seat to grab an insulated bag made to keep refrigerated items cool. The inside of the gas station was even more lackluster than the exterior.

Paint was peeling from the walls, one of the refrigerators was closed due to a malfunction, and he was the only person in there. Will tried to stay calm, peering down at the list Hannibal had given him. Roaming through the few aisles, Will picked up bread, a few different canned vegetables, soup, rice, crackers, several different types of nuts, instant coffee packets for himself, tea bags for Hannibal, more paper plates, paper towels, and a few rolls of toilet paper. By the time Will was moving onto the refrigerated area, a man with a scruffy beard and hair hidden by a baseball cap had appeared behind the cash register at the front of the store.

"You ain't stealin', are ya," he asked gruffly. Will immediately shook his head. "Good. I got a gun behind this counter, and I ain't afraid to use it." Will immediately pushed away the first thought that came to mind ( _I could get that gun from you faster than you could shoot it and beat you with my bare hands but oh god they'd find us and I'd lose Hannibal and oh god oh god oh_ ) and hastened to finish his shopping. He picked up milk, some sodas, the nicest bottle of wine in the gas station, and then scurried to the counter. On his way there, he snagged a lighter, condoms, and a package of aspirin.

"I got a lot of stuff," Will said. "And I have a gas ticket." When Will offered the man his bag, he took it and began ringing things up.

"Seven-one fifty-eight," the cashier said. Will fumbled for his wallet and handed the man eighty dollars cash.

"Keep the change," Will said, needing to leave. He felt like an exposed nerve. He was terrified that, at any second, the man would miraculously recognize him. He bustled out of the store. Hannibal popped the trunk for him, and Will opened the cooler inside to place their groceries in it. Will walked up to the driver's seat.

"Everything go well," Hannibal asked.

"Yeah. I just got a little nervous, that's all. Can I drive?" Hannibal looked slightly worried; he always did these days, even when he was smiling. Still, he got out of the car, brushing his fingers against Will's as he did so. Then he carefully got into the passenger's seat.

Will got in the car and, before he could even finish buckling his seatbelt, his phone pinged. Then it pinged again. And again. Soon it was vibrating in the cupholder, lighting up with new notice for a minute straight. When it ceased, Hannibal looked at him curiously.

"It isn't possible that someone has found this number, correct?"

Will shook his head, although he knew that wasn't true. It was always a possibility. He gingerly picked up the phone and sighed when he checked his notifications.

"No. There's just... I set up an alert system on my phone for whenever our names get mentioned... and Jack's. There's," Will paused, scrolling down, "there's going to be a press conference about us in an hour or so. Jack will be there, though it doesn't say whether he'll be speaking or not."

Hannibal nodded along with his words, then put his hand on Will's shoulder.

"Hm?"

"Are you sure you feel comfortable driving having read that," Hannibal asked, his voice relatively smooth and soft.

"Yes, Hannibal," Will said, trying not to show his annoyance. "My anxiety hasn't hindered me from driving yet."

"If you're sure, mylimasis. It was only a question. We can keep going on this road, then."

Will nodded shakily, buckled his seatbelt, and put his foot on the brake to start the car. Within a minute, they were back on the road. Will eventually decided to fiddle with the radio dial, smiling slightly at how Hannibal grimaced when some pop song immediately came on. He knew Hannibal preferred classical music, so, when a baroque rock song that relied heavily on violins came on, Will kept it on and turned the music up. He needed it to drown out his intrusive thoughts. Anxiety was taking over him.

Will tried to focus on the lyrics and the road ahead, anything to distract himself from the sinking feeling of his impending doom. Will knew this wasn't healthy. He should really be taking advantage of the fact that his partner in crime was also his ( _ex_ his mind whispered) psychiatrist.

Realizing the song was called Long Live Life, and connecting the lyrics to the title, did not help distract Will at all. In fact, it only reminded him of his worries. Will had lost his ticket to heaven long ago. He wondered if this half-life he lived full of fear and pain despite the circumstances (the circumstances being that he was living with the love of his life) was fated for him the minute he agreed to help Jack Crawford. Had he just stuck to his teaching job, Saint Peter might've still called his name.

With the FBI still hunting them, they'd never know peace. He'd never know peace. 

The song had ended a while ago; after agonizing minutes of mediocrity issuing from the speakers, Hannibal had wordlessly changed the station. Vivaldi's Four Seasons was playing. Though he did not know the music well enough to place which concerto was playing, he found out the second he glanced at Hannibal. The man was resting against his seat, head tilted and eyes shut. He knew then that summer must be playing; that one was Hannibal's favorite.

And God, he loved Hannibal.

That was what kept him up at night; he couldn't handle the thought of losing his love. Everything was too much and not enough without him, and the growing feeling that they would be caught was ruining everything, even though they were together.

Will's phone pinged and buzzed again. Hannibal seemed not to notice. Will glanced out of the windows before picking it up; endless fields of weeds stretched out from either side of the road. It reminded Will of his childhood. Will turned his phone on and looked at the top notifications. He dropped his phone out of shock.

Hannibal, having noticed the noise, straightened up.

"Will," Hannibal asked. Will barely heard him. He was slamming on the breaks, then parking the car on the side of the road, and then he was out of the car and in the sun. Hannibal called after him but Will was already running. He ran through the weeds and basked in the silence and calm around him. Even Hannibal's worried yells were calming to him, if only because it was Hannibal's voice that he was hearing.

He got maybe seventy-five yards into the field before dropping to his knees. Relief coursed through his veins and he did the only thing that felt natural. Will screamed, and all of the tension of the previous few months left him. It was ferocious, wild, and uncivilized, and it made Will feel alive. Heavy footfalls shook the ground around him and, as soon as Will closed his mouth, he was being pulled up from the ground by Hannibal. Hands gripped his shoulders and hazel eyes pierced Will's blue.

With concern in every word, Hannibal started, "Will! Are you-"

He was not able to even try to finish the question because, before he could, Will was kissing him. Passion flooded through them as if the two were one. Will wrapped his arms around Hannibal and Hannibal, in turn, lifted Will off of his feet. They had, of course, kissed before, but it was never anything like this. Will had never felt so free.

When they pulled apart, Hannibal was met with a dazzling grin from Will; Will hadn't smiled at him like that in years. Tears were in Will's eyes, but they were joyous ones.

"Hanninal, I love you," Will said for the first time. He'd wanted to say it for so long, but he couldn't. If he kept it hidden, he could reason with himself that he didn't have to admit his worries to him either.

"I love you endlessly, Will," Hannibal replied. "But you need to tell me what's happened. 

"The- The press conference, Hannibal. We were declared legally dead. The search has been called off. And I just... I couldn't help myself. I wanted to scream and be seen. For the first time in four months, I realized I could do just that. Because we're safe. We're safe. Hannibal, we're free." Hannibal smiled widely and pulled Will into a close embrace. Will closed his eyes. He felt like he could fall into a peaceful sleep right there, in broad daylight.

"Hannibal Lecter and Will Graham are dead," Hannibal said, the same way similar words had rolled off of his tongue when in a quite different situation with Abigail Hobbs.

Will clutched at Hannibal's button down shirt and drew back. Meeting Hannibal's eyes, he leaned in to kiss him again. He broke the kiss and rested his forehead against Hannibal's.

Will's smile snuck into his words as he spoke.

"Long live Will Graham and Hannibal Lecter."

**Author's Note:**

> there's a verse in taylor swift's seven (the verse that this fic's title came from) that, for some reason, reminded me of will graham. so, i decided to write this short fic because of it. i hope you enjoyed it! let me know your thoughts in the comments, i love reading them !


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